Genre: Comedy
Publisher: Media Factory (JP), Seven Seas (US)
Artist: Tomoya Haruno
Serialized in: Monthly Comic Alive
Translation: Adrienne Beck
Original Release Date: August 5, 2014
I follow a very simple rule when it comes to reading comedy manga: if I’m laughing because it’s legitimately funny instead of laughing while making up scenarios in my head that makes what I’m reading funny, that means the manga has good comedy. I think that’s the philosophy for a lot of people, so let’s narrow it down further: if there’s 7 chapters in one volume and there’s not a smile on my face at least 10-15 times, then it’s not worth my time to continue with the series. D-Frag! is definitely worth my time and attention since I was very amused at the humor in this volume.
Tomoya Haruno’s D-Frag! tells a story involving a wannabe delinquent in Kazama Kenji. Unfortunately, he’s like the third wheel in the Kazama Gang, with his two friends garnering most of the attention for eclectic reasons. The three decide, because they’re silly, to enter the Game Development Club and demand to “borrow” their games. When they go in, they see three girls and a fire being started in the corner. It pretty much gets crazier from there, and it ultimately leads to Kazama joining the club, for better or for worse…
I’m not sure if I should give credit to Haruno for creating a series where the actual involvement of students making a game is not happening or give him credit for just using video games as an excuse to just have crazy girls act kind of crazy and have a main character be flabbergasted that he’s involved with them. I guess the fact that I laughed a lot means I can compromise and say this first volume of D-Frag! is promising. It’s not steeped in gaming culture (in the manner of not a lot of video game discussion), so you don’t have to be into games to enjoy it. It’s still about the high school life. Just include with that high school life characters who like to roleplay elemental affinities out loud.
Clearly the characters in a comedy have to stand out to be funny, and everyone introduced so far fits a niche that will find a fan. You have your crazy, feared student council president (Chitose), a mysterious but silly game club president (Roka), the aloof tomboy (Sakura) and the club member who acts like a student…is a teacher (Minami). The other characters introduced range from a student who constantly has her boobs referred to as melons by…another girl, a VP that should admit he’s an M instead of letting us see that he is, and a cross-dresser. The characters are actually hilarious. With hilarious characters, this allows the stories to actually work out and be entertaining. This is what D-Frag! was for me — entertaining, hilarious, and paced properly.
However, the art is pretty much the worst aspect of the volume. Characters are drawn awkwardly at some points, with anatomy not really a factor for most of this volume. Sometimes it works since it enhances the comedy, which is the most important part, but oftentimes it leaves a bit to be desired. But aside from that, this volume is a good debut. If you need some humor and are in need of something that’s good, D-Frag! looks like it’ll be good for you.
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Justin
Justin is the founder of Organization Anti-Social Geniuses. Anime & manga fan that likes to blog about anime and manga, is addicted to sports, and weak to crossovers. You can follow Justin on Twitter @Kami_nomi.Latest posts by Justin (see all)
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